The Philadelphia Phillies boast one of the world's best players with a chance to win his third National League Most Valuable Player Award this season, but he's up against stiff competition.
MLB.com released its recent Hitter Power Rankings on Thursday, with Phillies superstar slugger Bryce Harper climbing up one spot to No. 5.
The rankings indicated, among other things, that the 2024 NL MVP race could ultimately come down to two players.
“With Betts sidelined, the NL MVP race could end up coming down to two players looking to become three-time MVPs: (Shohei) Ohtani and Harper,” MLB.com’s staff said. “Remember when Harper languished in free agency during the 2018-19 offseason before ultimately signing a 13-year deal with the Phillies? Well he’s now in Year 6 of that contract, and his OPS+ as a Phillie (152) is significantly higher than it was as a National (139).”
Harper would likely be the clear frontrunner for NL MVP at this point if it weren’t for Ohtani joining the NL this past offseason.
Ohtani came in at No. 2 in the Hitter Power Rankings, with the report pointing out that Ohtani has a shot at the NL Triple Crown, an accomplishment that would surely doom Harper’s MVP hopes.
“Ohtani slipped a bit in our last poll, but his bat is now scorching again -- at a great time for the Dodgers, who lost Mookie Betts to a left hand fracture on June 16,” MLB.com’s staff said. “Ohtani is batting .320/.422/.773 with 10 homers and 22 RBIs over his past 19 games, and he’s launched five homers and driven in 14 in eight games since Betts was placed on the IL. Don’t look now, but an NL Triple Crown is very much in play for Ohtani, who is first in average and homers and a close third in RBIs.”
Ohtani’s previous two MVPs came in 2023 and 2021, both as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Bryce Harper previously won NL MVP in 2021 as a member of the Phillies and in 2015 as a member of the Washington Nationals.
Harper headlines a Phillies organization that, though still shopping for talent, has its eyes fixed on a World Series run.
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